‘It felt like forever but apparently it was only about ten minutes before the rescue services were on site. I was making the most noise so I was the one they were less worried about. Mum and Dad were silent but Henry was still making little sounds. I’d found his hand and was holding it but I could feel his grip getting weaker. I’m sure I was a nightmare for the poor rescue crews, screaming at them to help him. The helicopter landed for him and they managed to finally get him out. I wanted to go with him and initially they weren’t going to let me because I was in a bit of a state. It was hard to tell whose blood was whose at that point but once he was out I calmed down and they let me accompany him, especially, I think, because he was a minor.’

I pushed myself up from the rock, sliding my hand from Lorcan’s, suddenly feeling the need to be moving. Wrapping my arms around myself, I took a couple of steps to the left, no nearer to the edge and still close to Lorcan. ‘I asked the fire and paramedic crews working on the car to look after my parents and tell them I’d talk to them soon, then got in with Henry.’

Breathing in the salty, biting air, I felt the chill of it down into my lungs and took another deep inhale.

‘We lost Henry during the flight. His injuries were too traumatic to survive.’

‘Oh, Maddie.’ Lorcan was up and beside me, his hands cradling my face. ‘I’m so, so sorry.’

‘Thank you,’ I said, a faint smile breaking through. ‘He would have loved you. And Bod.’

‘I’m sure the feeling would have been mutual.’

‘Thank you,’ I said again, not only because it was the most perfect thing he could have said, but because I knew he meant it.

‘After I’d been checked out at the hospital myself, and had a broken shoulder set and various cuts patched up, they put me in a private room and a doctor came in to tell me that Mum and Dad were also gone. The lights I’d seen were a lorry. During the inquest, it came out that the driver was driving under the influence of drugs and lost control. The truck jackknifed and ploughed into our car. My parents were both killed on impact. The driver of the lorry was arrested and didn’t have a mark on him.’

‘Jesus, Maddie.’ Lorcan’s words were as soft as a breath as he wrapped his arms around me and all I felt, all I knew and wanted to know, was his warm, solid bulk as my tears soaked into his navy-blue padded jacket.

* * *